1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments disclosed herein relate to automotive vehicle safety and, more particularly, to an automated system that assists with skid recovery, when an automotive vehicle begins to skid on an icy road surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional braking systems for automotive vehicles tend to fail when road surface conditions are icy. Specifically, when road conditions are icy, vehicles have a tendency to skid (i.e., slide) when the brakes are applied and, particularly, when they are applied suddenly. Such skidding, under icy conditions, is due to a low coefficient of friction between the tires of the vehicle and the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling. As ice accumulation increases, friction decreases and skidding occurs. For purposes of this disclosure, it should be understood that the term “automotive vehicle” refers to any self-propelled wheeled vehicle including, but not limited to, a car, a truck, a semi-truck, a sports utility vehicle, a van, a tractor, etc. Additionally, it should be understood that the term “ice” refers not only to solid ice, but also to any form of frozen precipitation containing ice particles such as snow, sleet, slush, hail, and freezing rain.
Vehicle safety under icy conditions has been addressed by governmental agencies that provide road maintenance crews that take measures (e.g., plowing, spreading salt, etc.) to limit and/or reduce ice accumulation. Vehicle safety under icy conditions has also been addressed by vehicle manufacturers, which have installed safety systems such as Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS). ABSs improve vehicle safety by overriding an unsafe action of a driver. Specifically, during a skid, it is safer for a driver to pump the brake pedal and, thereby the brakes rather than to press the brake pedal down continuously. If a skid occurs, the ABS will override a driver's unsafe action of slamming on the brakes (i.e., locking-up the brakes) and instead automatically operate the brakes in a safe manner by iteratively applying and releasing the brakes.
Unfortunately, the above-mentioned safety measures still do not solve the problem. Due to limited resources, oftentimes not all roads are maintained and, even when roads are designated for maintenance, maintenance crews may not be able to keep up with ever-worsening weather conditions. Furthermore, while ABS ensures that the driver of a vehicle doesn't make matters worse, it does not accelerate skid recovery in the presence of ice accumulation. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an automated system that is able to accelerate skid recovery, when an automotive vehicle begins to skid as a result of ice accumulation on the road surface.